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SHS Highlights

November 2021 Community Update

SHS HighlightsNovember 2021 Community Update

#WeAreSparta #WeAreSparta

Administrative Team:

Dr. Edward Lazzara - Principal
edward.lazzara@sparta.org

Mr. Shannon Benson - Vice Principal

shannon.benson@sparta.org

Mrs. Jamie Barker - Vice Principal

jamie.barker@sparta.org
Dr. Jordana Bradley - Supervisor of College and Career Readiness

jordana.bradley@sparta.org

Mr. Steve Stoner - Athletic Director

steven.stoner@sparta.org

Items of Note:

On Thursday, December 9 and Thursday, December 16 SHS students and staff will follow an activity schedule so that we can conduct STAR assessments as a benchmark tool for English and Math. On Thursday, December 9, all students in grades 9-11 will participate in the English STAR assessment in their homerooms during the last hour of the school day. On December 16, all students with the exception of those students enrolled in Precalculus, Calculus, Multivariable, or Statistics will take the Math STAR assessment in homeroom during the last hour of the school day. Seniors with Senior Privilege will have the option of signing out at 1:24 pm. All other non-testing students will report to their respective homerooms for a quiet study hall.

Staff Member Spotlight:

Mr. Dave De Crescenzi is a dedicated History teacher who goes the extra mile for his students. His efforts are in the best interest of his students at all times. He is involved in many co-curricular activities and organizes many events in order to create the best high school environment all students at SHS.

Students of the Month:

English - David Youm put together a mesmerizing post-viewing project for The Shining that highlighted his videography skills, creativity, and appreciation for the film. He has also volunteered to present his work to his English class, which was not a project requirement, but was truly appreciated by his peers. This showed the pride of his work and the investment that he put into the project. Way to go, David!


Math - Ashley Louissant is consistently attentive, always willing to ask questions and actively contributes to discussions in Geometry class. More importantly, Ashley is extremely polite, respectful, and willing to assist her peers when working through problems independently. She is truly a pleasure to have in class and should be very proud of the success she has earned so far this year.


Science - Rishma Seerattan is engaged, inquisitive and an active participant in Environmental Science. Her attentiveness and clear dedication to learning propelled her to complete the marking period at the top of her class! Bravo, Rishma!


World Language - Shaelin Murphy is extremely supportive of her peers. She always has a kind word to say to anyone who appears a little down. Additionally, her coach reports that she works hard to make practice an inclusive environment and to make every athlete feel appreciated and important. She cheers for everyone and always has a smile on her face. She's dedicated, enthusiastic, and extremely driven.


History - Yasmina Mohamed is respectful of her classmates and her teacher and has been a leader during class discussions. She shares her own views in addition to asking thought-provoking questions to engage her fellow classmates.


TCC- Nicolas Capeci has excelled in Broadcast 2. He has taken a leadership role and he is an invaluable asset to the team.


Music - Mary DiGuiseppi has always been inclusive to other students in the class. She demonstrates extreme engagement and high character both in class and around the school environment.


Art - Henri Coleman is a strong leader in class and likes to do well. Henri helps others in the class, is creative, and goes above and beyond for all assignments.


Physical Education - Ben Holden displays great sportsmanship and character every day during Physical Education. He encourages others and always puts forth all of his effort. Ben has been a great student and a great help to his teacher.

School Counseling Updates:

Lauren Ambrosino is our Co-op assistant for the School Counseling Department. Lauren works beautifully with our counseling staff and students. She exemplifies what a Co-op student should be-- balancing her academics and work responsibilities. She has been doing a stellar job!


The School Counseling Department met with the class of 2025 to introduce Naviance, our College and Career Planning Tool. Students completed the Strengths Explorer Assessment which generates career opportunities based on student responses. Counselors will be meeting individually with Freshmen to review the results, to check-in, and to complete a 4-year plan.


Historically, the term “guidance counselor” was used to reference counselors working within the school system. This role has evolved in the past decade and counselors are now referred to as “school counselors”. As collaborative members of an educational team, school counselors provide comprehensive support to students in many different ways.

Upstanders of the Month:

Congratulations to students Josh Ermeus, Brynn McCurry and Ashley Louissant who were recognized as our NY Jets upstanders of the month for their character and leadership.

Holiday Celebrations:

Our Life Skills students and staff spent the week cooking and preparing for our annual Thanksgiving Feast. It was a special celebration, and we are so grateful for their hard work in putting it together.
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Veteran's Day Ceremony:

We held a Veteran's Day assembly to honor our Veteran staff and community members. Our music department was paramount to making this a beautiful and special event. Thank you to all of our speakers and performers including the following:
  • Mayor Quinn
  • Lieutenant Pete Litchfield
  • Veteran Mr. Scott Rogoff
  • Veteran Mr. Jerry Murphy
  • Veteran Mr. William Brennan
  • Officer Michael Poon
  • Student Charlotte Rogoff
  • Student Natalie Torres
  • SHS Marching Spartans
  • SHS Honors Choir
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SHS Honors Choir

Singing "Star Spangled Banner" and "My Country Tis of Thee"
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Natalie Torres

Singing "America the Beautiful"
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Charlotte Rogoff

Thanking our Veteran community members and speaking about her experience in a military family
Sparta High School Hosts Veterans Day Ceremony

Sparta High School Hosts Veterans Day Ceremony

Sparta High School Hosts Veterans Day Ceremony

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Departmental News:

On November 17, AP French students had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session about Home Automation with a French Home Automation Professional in Reims France. Home Automation is one of the many subthemes our AP students need to conquer for the AP Exam. Mr. Lavergne was impressed with their language skills and students were impressed that they were fully understood!

Photography:

Students have been working hard and entering various competitions. This fall, there was a local photography competition at the Sparta Camera Club in town and a few of our students won in the Junior category. Attached are the winners and their placings! The Sparta Camera Club members were all impressed with the quality of work from our students and the students loved showing off their work to the community.
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Athletic and Co-Curricular Highlights:

Girls Soccer

Congratulations to our Girls Soccer team who protected our home turf and won the NJAC Division and Sectional Championship!


NJAC All Conference Athletes

First Team: Kate Mazzella, Juliana Dolinski, Abigail Pierson, Ella Collins

Second Team: Uma Kowalski, Abigail Connors, Shauna Ryan

Honorable Mention: Lilli Wiegand

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Boys Soccer

NJAC All Conference Athletes

First Team: Jeff Bischoff

Second Team: Dylan Barry

Honorable Mention: Jack Maraziti

Gymnastics

Our gymnastics team placed 3rd at League Championships!
Five athletes qualified for sectionals and two placed in the top 12.

  • Karen Maasbach, Jenna Halkyard, Natalie Blaszak and Maelle Moriarty qualified in balance beam.
  • Meghan Smith qualified on vault.
  • Maelee Moriarty, Natalie Blaszak, and Meghan Smith qualified on floor.
  • Maelee Moriarty and Natalie Blaszak qualified on bars.
  • Maelee Moriarty brought home 7th on beam and Natalie Blaszak earned 12th on bars.
  • Maelee Moriarty earned top honors for All League A Division for first team on floor.
  • Natalie Blaszak received 2nd team honors for bars.
  • Jenna Halkyard and Ciara Peselli received Honorable Mention.

Football

Congratulations to our Football team for securing their place as SFC Division Champs. They finished their season against Cranford in the Group finals.

And special congratulations to Coach Marchiano on hitting his 100th win!

NJAC All Conference

First Team: Luke Szabo, Austen Frattura, Justin Smith, Parker Williamson, Paul Gennat, William Quinn, Brady Doyle
Second Team: Kevin Struble, Nick Doumbe, Joshua Ermeus, Joe Byrnes, Chase Geer, Josh Brancy

Honorable Mention: Jack Cisko

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis team had a successful season. Kelly Groome and Charlotte Putnam were the HWS Doubles Champions and Sarah Bargefrede and Isabella Sportelli were HWS Silver Medal recipients.


NJAC All Conference

First Team: Alexa Matkiwsky

Honorable Mention: Gabby Canzoniero

Cross Country

The girls team raced a tough schedule this year, and every athlete improved their time throughout the season. Ashley Crane finished first in the Lou Fraulo Cross Country Invitational and then placed 5th in the NJAC North 1 Group 2 Sectional race. Ashley advanced to the Group 2 finals in Holmdel, NJ, and finished 22nd overall. She was the first girl to advance since 2014!


NJAC All Conference

First Team: Ashley Crane

Second Team: Shaelin Murphy

Honorable Mention: Eva Hughes



The boys team finished with a record of 4-2, which is the most wins that the team has had since 2013. The varsity team won the Lou Fraulo Invitational, finishing first place out of all large and small schools. This same group of boys also won their first invitational at Garret Mountain as freshmen!


NJAC All Conference

First Team: Anthony Lane

Second Team: Adam Wood

Honorable Mention: Daniel Maher


East Bay Cross Country Championships

(Formally known as Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals)

Girls: Ashley Crane, Kayleigh Simpson, Shaelin Murphy

Boys: Anthony Lane, Dan Maher, Remson Jarrell

Field Hockey

The team ended with a record of 6-13-1. Their schedule was strong and the team played competitively in each game. In the NJAC National Division, the team was awarded the Sportsmanship Award and had several NJAC All Conference team nominations.


First Team: Norah Monaghan, Sophia Candeloro

Second Team: Casey Coleman, Sofia DiStefano, Allison Hollywood

Honorable Mention: Rachel Leitner

Susses County Team: Norah Monaghan

North Jersey Group 2 Third Team: Norah Monaghan

Volleyball

The girls volleyball team won the NJAC American Division and are NJAC Division Champions for the second year in a row. The team made it to the HWS county final match for the first time in program history and they finished off the season ranked number 16 in the entire state!


NJAC All Conference

First Team: Brynn McCurry, Arianna Puleo

Second Team: Payton Sumpson, Aralyn Saulys

Honorable Mention: Emily Smernoff


NJ.Com Best Freshman Volleyball Player: Aralyn Saulys

Cheerleading

Our cheer team placed 1st at Hunterdon Central’s Cheer for the Cure competition and 2nd at the Randolph Rampage competition. They also earned the Top Banana award at camp this year which gets awarded to the most spirited, positive, hardworking team.

Marching Band

The Marching Band was the Region 10 Champion for Group 2A!

Accomplishments
Jefferson HS Competition - 1st Place

Ramsey HS Competition - 1st Place (swept all captions)

Sparta HS Competition - Top Score in Group 2A

Gov. Livingston HS Competition - 2nd Place

Region 10 NY/Metro Area Champions

Atlantic Coast Championships - 3rd Place, Best Percussion

1st Place Championship Win For Sparta High School Marching Band

1st Place Championship Win For Sparta High School Marching Band

SPARTA, NJ - The members of Sparta High School's marching band brought home a first place win from the Tournament of Bands Regional Championship. The band competed on Oct. 24 at West Essex High School in North Caldwell for Region 10.

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Fall Drama

Congratulations to our students and Mr. Stokes on an amazing show!


Comments from our cast:

Shea Harrison

Middletown has been unlike any show I have experienced prior. It’s a difficult show to describe if you haven’t seen it, as it is really just the lives of different people each with their own personal struggles with loneliness, change, and the world around them. On the first read through it seemed a bit weird, but as we continued rehearsing the scenes and acts I started to see where more comedy aspects came through, as well as some more of the thought-provoking meta aspects. I also had an amazing time with the phenomenal cast and crew, many of whom I have known for years and several new people whom I look forward to working with in the future. As I am writing this opening night is a few days away, but I know we’re gonna crush it!

Julia Kadar

Being a part of the Middletown production has been so special for me. Working with these new people and this team in particular has been so great. I’ve never acted in a straight drama, so this has been a new experience that I will forever remember. I look forward to performing and showing off all of the work we’ve done.

Kate Sheeran

"Middletown is a beehive, bustling with people and business." This show has been the first in which I've had a role that I connected with very quickly. The Mechanic, that I play, is a wacky, bouncy dude who I've found throughout the exploration of character with the other cast members and, of course, Mr. Stokes. The philosophical obscurity makes this show all the more enjoyable to be in, and being a part of it has been a new and enjoyable experience for me.

Social Emotional Supports:


  • Our licensed staff is here to assist students in achieving their health and wellness goals, enabling students to make lifestyle choices that help them achieve optimal physical, emotional and behavioral well-being. Please visit our Align Wellness Program website for additional information.
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Sparta High School

Email: edward.lazzara@sparta.org
Website: sparta.org
Location: 70 West Mountain Road, Sparta, NJ, USA
Phone: 9737296191
Twitter: @sparta_hs

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